That Silly Old Bear
by Audball2108
Summary: "It's hard to explain how a few precious things seem to follow throughout all our lives..." One shot. Brittany and Santana met, grew up and fell in love, all with the help of a silly old bear. Brittana.


**I have had this story in my head for a while now, but I finally found time to write it out. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.**  
**The song that it's based off of and contains lyrics from is "Return to Pooh Corner" by Kenny Loggins. You can listen to it by adding this at the end of the youtube URL: /watch?v=BpXUYIOoFzM**

* * *

_Christopher Robin and I walked along  
Under branches lit up by the moon_

Five-year-old Santana Lopez peeked through the door of the classroom nervously. She gave a pleading look at her mother, Maribel, with her big brown eyes, "I don't wanna go."

Maribel crouched down in front of her daughter. "Santana, don't you want to be a big girl? You have to start Kindergarten someday, Mija."

"Do not! I can stay home like you!"

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart. Here, I'll come with you," Maribel took the tiny Latina's hand and lead her inside. "Look at all of the toys, Santana! And all of the little girls and boys your age. I bet you'll have a best friend by the end of the day!" She looked at her daughter and winked, but the small girl only pouted. Just then, a tiny, kind-looking lady walked over to them.

"Hello, Mrs. Lopez! I'm Mrs. Reese," she introduced and shook Maribel's hand. She then crouched down to Santana's height. "And you must be Santana! Welcome to kindergarten!"

Santana just stared at her. Mrs. Reese could tell she was nervous, so she gave Santana an understanding smile. "Don't worry, Santana. You'll love it here!"

Santana shook her head and pouted some more. Mrs. Reese chuckled and said goodbye to Maribel, who picked Santana up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I will be here later to pick you up, Santana. I love you_. _Be good." She put her down and left.

_Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore  
As our days disappeared all too soon_

Santana sat down at an empty table and tears fell down her cheeks. Just then, a little girl with blonde pigtails sat next to her. The girl was holding a stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear.

"Why are you crying?" She asked, curious.

Santana wiped her tears. "I wanna go home. I don't like it here!"

The blonde nodded, understanding. "I thought I wouldn't like it here, but my mommy let me bring my Pooh bear and now I'm not so sad anymore!"

"Winnie the Pooh is for babies," Santana said, crossing her arms.

"No, he's not. Winnie the Pooh is for everyone," the girl corrected kindly. "I'm Brittany. What's your name?"

"Santana."

"That's a pretty name. You're pretty too. Do you want to be friends, Santana? I'll let you hold my Pooh bear and we can play on the playground together!" Brittany smiled at Santana, who smiled back and nodded shyly.

Brittany hopped once, excited. "Great! Come on San, let's go play!" Santana smiled at her new nickname. Brittany took her hand and led her to the toy box. Santana thought that maybe Kindergarten wasn't so bad after all.

_But I've wandered much further today than I should  
And I can't seem to find my way back to the wood_

**xxxxxx**

Ten year old Brittany S. Peirce ran towards her best friend, who was putting her book bag in her cubby. "Guess what, San! My mom said I could sleep over tonight!" she hopped excitedly and Santana laughed.

"Stop hopping, silly, you're going to make yourself tired before the sleepover!" Santana joked, and Brittany stopped hopping.

"Oh, yeah. I don't want to fall asleep during the movie!" the blonde giggled.

"Exactly. What movie are you bringing?"

"It's called 'The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'! I use to watch it all the time when I was really little, and I thought I'd be fun to watch it again!" Brittany smiled, but Santana gave her a strange 'are you kidding me?!' look.

"Brittany, Winnie the Pooh is for babies! Can't we watch something else?"

"Please, San? I really wanna watch it."

"…I'll think about it, Britt." Santana promised.

"Okay, good!" Brittany linked her pinky with Santana's and they found their way to their seats.

_Help me if you can, I've got to get  
Back to the House at Pooh Corner by one  
You'd be surprised, there's so much to be done_

Santana and Brittany were sitting in Santana's room that night, when Brittany turned to Santana.

"Have you thought about it?" Brittany looked at her best friend with her sapphire eyes, pleading. Santana knew there was no way she could say no to Brittany now.

She rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in defeat. "Yes, yes, okay let's watch Winnie the Pooh…"

Brittany hopped up in excitement and hugged Santana tightly. "YAY! Oh, San, you're the best!" The dark-haired girl laughed at how excited her best friend was.

"Yeah, I know. Don't tell anyone I watched this though. I don't need Puckerman calling me a baby."

"Okay!" Brittany smiled and put the movie in. She sat next to Santana on the floor and put her head on her shoulder.

By the end of the movie, Brittany was asleep, but Santana was still awake. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she really liked the movie. She woke Brittany and turned the TV off.

"Hey, Britt. Let's go to bed," she took Brittany's hand and led her to the bed. Brittany got up off the bed, though, and took something out of her bag. Her Pooh bear. She got under the covers and snuggled with the bear. Santana smiled and snuggled right next to her and fell asleep.

_Count all the bees in the hive  
Chase all the clouds from the sky  
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh_

**xxxxxx**

Years later, Brittany and Santana were lounging on Brittany's bed looking through magazines.

"Zac Efron is so hot," Santana commented. Brittany nodded.

"Yeah, he is. But I think Vanessa Hudgens is hotter," she said. Santana's head shot up from behind the magazine.

"What the hell, Britt?!"

"What?" Brittany looked confused.

"You can't just say stuff like that! We're 15, in high school now! If you say that in front of someone else they might think you're a lesbo or something," Santana warned, but Brittany just shrugged her shoulders.

"So?"

"So?! Being a lesbian is social suicide! You don't want to end up like Kurt, do you?! Being thrown in the dumpster every day? Pushed into lockers? A slushy facial every morning?!" Santana began to get frustrated.

"I never said I was a lesbian," Brittany corrected. "I don't know what I am…" Brittany could feel her cheeks get warm, as she was embarrassed that she just one of her biggest secrets slip out.

"Oh just freaking great," Santana threw her arms up, annoyed. "We're finally popular and you just have to ruin it by liking girls! Your reputation will tank and so will mine, all because you're my best friend, the lesbo!"

Brittany felt tears well up in her eyes. She sat on her chair and cuddled her Pooh bear. "I said I don't know, San. Why can't you understand that this is hard for me?"

"Because unlike you, I don't have that problem!"

"I never said you did. I just want you to understand," Brittany sobbed and buried her face in her Pooh bear's head.

"Well I don't!" Santana yelled. "And put that damn bear away! GOD, you're such a freaking baby!" And with that, she stormed out of the room, leaving Brittany sobbing alone.

_Winnie the Pooh doesn't know what to do  
Got a honey jar stuck on his nose_

About an hour later, there was a knock at Brittany's bedroom door. Brittany sat her Winnie the Pooh bear on the bed and opened the door to find Santana, eyes filled to the brim with tears threatening to spill over, standing in front of her.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried and threw her arms around Brittany, who hugged her back.

"Shh…it's okay, Santana. I understand. I won't talk about it anymore if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, I didn't get mad because of that," Santana started, but thought for a second before closing the door. She sat down on the bed, picked up the Pooh bear and clutched it to her chest. Brittany sat next to her. "It's just…I've been scared. Because I'm curious…"

Brittany cocked her head to the side. "About what?"

The Latina took a deep breath. "About…kissing girls. A couple of times I've thought that it would be…interesting…to kiss a girl."

Brittany smiled. "Me too." Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Why don't we kiss, San? We both want to try, so why not try with each other?!"

"But wouldn't that be weird?"

"Not at all! Here, close your eyes," the blonde instructed. Santana did as she was told and held onto the bear tighter.

Brittany closed her eyes and moved closer to Santana. She hesitated for a moment, but finally, their lips touched.

It was a sweet kiss, not forceful at all. Santana noticed how soft Brittany's lips were. It was an amazing kiss, especially compared to any of the boys she's kissed in the past. Their lips moved together in perfect unison. It was as effortless as breathing.

When they broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes, they knew there was something magical about it. And that scared Santana, but at the moment she felt too good to care. There were butterflies in her tummy and she was dizzy with joy.

She hadn't felt this wonderful, ever. So she clutched the Winnie the Pooh bear even tighter, and went in for another kiss…which Brittany gladly accepted.

**xxxxxx**

Two years later, Brittany and Santana were at Breadstix, eating and talking about school and the fact that they finally quit the Cheerios.

"It was long overdue, I think," Santana admitted with a smile. "I don't know why we didn't quit sooner."

"I liked it, but Sue is a nutcase. Like that homeless guy outside of the library that barks at my mom," Brittany took another bite of her spaghetti and chuckled to herself.

Santana smiled. "What's so funny?"

"I just thought of something Artie had said about that homeless guy. It was really funny," the blonde chuckled again but stopped when she saw the look on Santana's face.

"Can we, like, not talk about him anymore?"

"Why don't you like Artie?"

"He's a douche bag!" Santana spat, getting more angry with each mention of his name.

"Not completely. Besides, it's not like I'm dating him anymore."

"And that's a good thing. You're too good for him, Brittany," the Latina said matter-of-factly.

Brittany felt her cheeks get warm and smiled bashfully. "Yeah, well, I think you're too good for Puck."

"You know what, Britt? I think I am too. I'm glad I got out of that…thing…with him before it was too late."

Brittany reached across the table and linked her pinky with Santana's. "Me too, San. Hey, you wanna come over and watch a movie? We never did get to watch "Pooh's Most Grand Adventure" last time!"

Santana rolled her eyes playfully, "Alright, alright. Let's pay the check and get out of here!"

_He came to me asking help and advice  
From here no one knows where he goes_

As they watched the movie, Santana noticed Brittany cuddling closer and closer. She smiled to herself and watched the movie closely.

**Pooh: "**Who would I ask for advice when I didn't know which way to turn?"

**Christopher Robin: **"Pooh, we…"

**Pooh: **"We... we simply wouldn't be."

**CR: **"Oh, Pooh. If ever there's a tomorrow when we're not together, there's something you must remember."

**Pooh: **"And what might that be, Christopher Robin?"

**CR**: "You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

**Pooh: **"Oh, that's easy. We're braver than a bee, and, uh, longer than a tree, and taller than a goose... or, uh, was that a moose?"

**CR: **"No, silly, old bear! You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is even if we're apart, I'll always be with you. I'll always be with you. I'll always be with you."

Santana just then realized that Brittany was crying. She hated to see the blonde cry, so she turned towards her.

"Why are you crying, Britt?"

"It just makes me think…what if that's me and you? What if we don't go to the same college? What if we lose touch? What if-"

Santana put her hand over Brittany's mouth, silencing her. "Shh, Britt. I will never leave you."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, Britt. I…I love you," Santana's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe she had just said that out loud. She had been struggling with these feelings for Brittany for years. Part of Santana was happy she said it, but part of her was horrified and considered running out the door before Brittany could deny her.

More tears fell down Brittany's cheek as she looked at Santana. "You do?"

"Yeah…yeah, I do," Santana said breathily. She smiled a bit with a glimmer of hope.

Brittany didn't say anything, she just lunged forward and kissed Santana with so much passion that they fell to the ground. Once the kiss broke, they laughed and they got up. Brittany looked into Santana's eyes.

"I love you too, Santana. More than anyone else in this world."

Santana didn't say anything, she just kissed Brittany's face again and again and again, and the two fell back on the floor in fits of giggles.

**xxxxxx**

Graduation rolled around, and even though it was a struggle, both Brittany and Santana graduated. They decided that since they were going to the same college (Bowling Green State University), they would have a joint graduation party.

Santana's little cousin Isaac walked up to the girls. "Are you going to be a cheerleader at college, Santana?"

"I don't think so. I don't have the time for it. My classes take up too much of my time. I need to have some free time so I can see my girlfriend!" she put her arm around Brittany's waist and the blonde smiled at her. Just then Maribel walked over to them and chuckled a little.

"You guys are roommates, for goodness sake! You'll probably be sick of each other by the end of the first semester," she joked.

Santana smiled and shook her head. "I don't think so, Mama. It's been 13 years of being attached at the hip and we haven't gotten sick of each other yet! Plus, I love her too much." She kissed Brittany's cheek, which turned slightly pink.

"I should be worried about you two rooming together, but honestly, what's there to worry about? You can't get each other pregnant, so…" the three girls laughed and Isaac stared at them.

Once the girl's stopped laughing, Isaac asked curiously, "Where do babies come from?" The girls busted out laughing once more.

Finally, Maribel took Isaac's hand. "How about you ask your mama, Isaac? I'm sure she'd love to answer all your questions." She looked back at the girls and winked, and led Isaac off to his mom, leaving the two girls alone.

_So I sent him to ask of the Owl if he's there  
How to loosen a jar from the nose of a bear_

"So, now that we are alone, do you want to open your graduation gift?" Brittany asked excitedly. Santana nodded and Brittany went to get it off of the gift table. When she came back, she had two boxes with her.

Santana opened the first box to find a pair of sterling silver diamond infinity loop earrings, each with one regal blue topaz at the center. They were absolutely stunning.

"Oh, God. Brittany, these are beautiful! Thank you so much…" she kissed her girlfriend, who was smiling so big.

"Open the other box!"

Santana smiled. "Okay, okay!" She opened the other box, and inside was a necklace with a silver heart charm that had the same regal blue topaz lining it. Santana was awestruck.

"Oh, Britt, baby…you shouldn't have. These must have cost so much…they are so beautiful…"

"Nothing is too much for you, Santana," Brittany stated matter-of-factly, and she kissed her girlfriend on her forehead.

"Well, I think you more than deserve your gift now!" Santana chuckled and she went and got Brittany's gift.

Brittany opened the box and found a white gold bracelet with two charms on it. The first was a white-gold heart with both of their birthstones on it. The other one was a white-gold Winnie the Pooh.

"Oh, Santana…" Brittany breathed. "Wow…it's so beautiful. I love everything about it. I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Brittany. I picked out the Winnie the Pooh since you love Pooh so much…I hoped you would like it."

"I love it! It's stunning." Brittany hopped from the excitement of her gift.

"Yes, you are."

Brittany rolled her eyes playfully and they both laughed at the corniness of Santana's last statement. They kissed again, this time more heated. Just then, Maribel walked into the room they were in.

"Ay! There are people arriving and you two are too busy being frisky. You'll have plenty of time for that in college, so come greet your guests!" she joked. Brittany giggled, but Santana looked horrified.

"Ma! Gross, never say that again!" despite being horrified, Santana still laughed along with them, and the three went back to the party.

_Help me if you can, I've got to get  
Back to the House at Pooh Corner by one  
You'd be surprised, there's so much to be done_

**xxxxxx**

At twenty-four, Brittany and Santana had long graduated college and been married for a year and a half. Brittany owned her own dance studio in downtown Manhattan and Santana was working for a big business stationed in New York City. They were finally ready to start a family, when Santana got a call from work.

"Hello? Oh, hi, Mr. Watson! I'm great, how are you? Your wife had your baby girl, that's wonderful, congratulations! You-sorry, you go first. Uh huh. Really, that's…for how long? Wow…um. That's a great opportunity, sir! Can I talk to my wife about it and get back with you by the morning? Thank you so much, sir. Uh huh. Goodbye!" Santana put the phone down and sat at the table, completely shocked.

"Who was it, honey?"

"It was Mr. Watson, my boss," Santana started.

"What'd he want?" Brittany asked curiously, rubbing her wife's back.

"His wife…had their baby early…and he was suppose to go on a five-month marketing trip to India next week," Santana took a shaky breath and continued, "his wife was going to go with him and just have the baby there, but since the baby was born here, it can't travel there for at least a couple of months, which doesn't work because someone from the company needs to be there by next Saturday or the deal is off."

"Well that's unfortunate. What did he call you for?"

"He offered me the position of being his Vice President of marketing."

"Oh, my god! Santana! That's amazing!" Brittany hugged and kissed her wife, but Santana didn't look excited. "Why aren't you acting happy?"

"Because the only way I get the job is if I go on the trip instead of him."

"Oh," Brittany was silent for a moment, then she thought of something, "I can't go with you, San, you know that. I have my studio to run, and I don't trust Megan to run it for me."

Santana buried her face in her hands as tears rolled down her face. "I know. I don't know what to do, Britt."

Brittany thought for a moment. Then she crouched down in front of Santana, lifted her face so she was looking at her straight on. "Go, Santana. Go to India, become the Vice President of marketing. Do what you've worked so hard to do."

"But, it's five months-"

"Yes, five months. Not forever. I'll still be here. I will never leave."

Santana nodded, and Brittany wiped the tears off of her wife's face. She grabbed the phone and handed it to the Latina, who kissed her on the cheek. "I guess I better call Mr. Watson back."

Brittany nodded as she watched Santana leave the room.

_Count all the bees in the hive  
Chase all the clouds from the sky  
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh_

"Brittany, my flight leaves soon. I need to go, love." Santana kissed her wife's hand and looked in her eyes, which had tears spilling out of them.

"I know I said I would be strong, but I don't know if I'm strong enough," Brittany buried her face in Santana's neck. Santana understood. She understood completely and felt the same way. But she needed to put on a brave face for the both of them.

"Brittany, look at me, sweetie," Brittany wiped her face and looked at Santana. "Britt, you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But most importantly, even when we're apart, I'll always be with you," Santana kissed her on the nose. "I'll always be with you," then on the forehead. "I'll always be with you," and finally, the lips.

"I love you, Santana."

"I love you too, Brittany. More than anyone else in this world," Santana kissed her again. "Goodbye, Love."

And she was off.

**xxxxxx**

The five months passed very slowly. But when Santana came home, Brittany had been the happiest she'd been since the two married. Shortly after Santana returned, the two began to try to start a family. The artificial insemination worked the second time they tried. Nine months later, Brittany gave birth to a 8 pound baby boy that they named Christopher Antonio Lopez-Pierce, in honor of Brittany's and Santana's fathers, respectively.

They had chosen a Hispanic donor with features similar to Santana's so they could have a baby that resembled them both. And Christopher was the perfect mixture. Tanned skin and dark hair like Santana, but mouth & eye shape and gorgeous sapphire eyes like Brittany.

They couldn't have asked for a more perfect little boy.

**xxxxxx**

_It's hard to explain how a few precious things  
Seem to follow throughout all our lives_

Christopher grew into a beautiful, smart little boy. By the time he was three, he was already speaking in (kind of) full sentences and starting to become quite the singer and dancer (they had family karaoke night at least twice a month).

"Momma, why does Mamí come home after bedtime?" Christopher asked while his mouth was full of cheerios. Some milk dribbled down his shirt as he spoke. Brittany giggled and wiped it up with a napkin.

"Because she has to work hard so she can give you stuff that other little boys might not get because they don't have the money for it."

"Like bacon and milk?"

Brittany giggled again. "Yes, like bacon and milk."

When Brittany put Christopher down for a nap, she went to the attic to search for his baby scrapbook so she could add to it. But before she found it, she looked through her old stuff and found her old Winnie the Pooh bear. She smiled and took it to the laundry room to wash it and put it in Christopher's bed.

_After all's said and done I was watching my son  
Sleeping there with my bear by his side_

Santana came home that night around 9:30. Brittany was asleep on the couch, so she kissed her to wake her up.

"Hey honey," Brittany said groggily. "How was work today?"

"Great! I won't have to work later than 4 for the next few months, so I'm pretty happy."

"That's great, sweetheart!" Brittany smiled and kissed Santana's cheek. "You tired?" Santana nodded. "Alright, let's go to bed."

They walked upstairs, and Santana stopped in front of Christopher's room. "I'm going to go kiss him goodnight, I'll be right in."

Brittany nodded, and Santana walked into her son's room. She walked over to the bed, and that's when she saw him cuddled up with Brittany's old stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear. She couldn't help but tear up as she thought of all the wonderful things that bear has been through with her and Brittany. To Santana, it felt like the bear was part of her and Brittany's journey. She sighed and gave her son a kiss goodnight, and she headed off to bed.

_So I tucked him in, I kissed him, and as I was going  
I swear that the old bear whispered, "Boy, welcome home"_

**xxxxxx **

A couple of years passed. Christopher was almost six and carried the Pooh bear around with him nearly everywhere. It was clear that the bear meant a lot to him, but it didn't compare to how much the bear meant to Brittany and Santana. They were happy that their son loved the bear almost as much as they did.

Santana and Brittany were in bed one night watching a rerun of Saturday Night Live, when Santana turned to Brittany.

"Hey honey?" the Latina took her hand.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking...uh, wondering...how would you feel about another baby?"

Brittany said nothing, she just lunged forward and kissed Santana forcefully.

Santana laughed. "I'll take that as a yes, then?"

"Take that as a hell yes!" Brittany said, ecstatic.

_Believe me if you can, I've finally come  
Back to the House at Pooh Corner by one  
What do you know, there's so much to be done_

This time, Santana chose to carry the baby. They chose a donor that had features close to Brittany's. The artificial insemination worked the first time, and nine months later, a 7 pound baby girl was born. They named her Madison Rose, and again she was the perfect mixture of the two: dark hair and deep brown eyes like Santana, but fair skin and cheeks like Brittany. She was beautiful.

Years passed, and soon Christopher stopped taking the Winnie the Pooh bear everywhere, and passed it down to Madison. She was even more attached to the bear and kept it around for about as long as Brittany did.

Eventually, Christopher got married to Amelia Hudson, Finn and Rachel's daughter (Santana would never fully forgive him for that) and Madison got married to her high school sweetheart, Ryan Crocker. They both had children who loved Winnie the Pooh just as much as they did, though they never got the original "family bear". The children did, however, get Winnie the Pooh bears of their own. Brittany and Santana kept their special one for sentimental reasons.

Even as time went on and Brittany and Santana aged, they always had a very special place in their hearts for that silly old bear.

_Count all the bees in the hive  
Chase all the clouds from the sky  
Back to the days of Christopher Robin  
Back to the ways of Christopher Robin  
Back to the days of Pooh_

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this! If any of you are wondering, yes, Winnie the Pooh made up a huge part of my childhood and I will always have a special place in my heart for him. **  
**This song also means a lot to me, because the first version (without the last verse) came out when my grandfather was alive, and he use to sing it to my cousins all the time. I'm told it was his favorite song to sing because he loved Winnie the Pooh. He died a few months before I was born, and a few months after I was born, the second version (with the last verse) came out. I've always thought that because the second version came out so close to my grandfather's death and my birth, that it was almost like the last verse was written for me by him. Is that weird? Probably. But that's just how I think.**

**The scene from "Pooh's Most Grand Adventure" that I put on here can be viewed here: /watch?v=9tRepZdoRmY**

**Please review! It would make my week. Means a lot, takes little time.**


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